You've reached the internet home of Chris Sells, who has a long history as a contributing member of the Windows developer community. He enjoys long walks on the beach and various computer technologies.
Monday, Jun 13, 2005, 2:25 PM in Fun
Me and the Star Wars Gang
The boys and I went to ROTS on the 2nd night and our local theater had some auspicious guests that I made stand around while my son took the picture (neither of them asked to be in a similar picture, btw : ).
I was at Episode IV in 1977 when I was 8 years old, so this has been quite the journey. You'd think I'd be bored, but I've actually been following threads on the web lately like the "3 more episodes" rumors and The Sith Explained on howstuffworks.com.
Tuesday, Jun 7, 2005, 11:29 AM in Fun
Q: What is "funding the clubbing of baby seals?"
A: The reason I gave for wanting to cancel an extra credit card.
I bet they don't have that reason in their script! : )
Friday, Jun 3, 2005, 10:23 AM in Fun
IanG Interview on ServerSide.NET
See IanG, my Avalon book co-author in crime, talk with Ted Neward about WinForms, Avalon and .NET. Nicely done.
Saturday, May 28, 2005, 10:10 AM in Fun
Darth Vader vs. Yoda?
I just realized: Lucas took us through the entire 6 film series and we never got to see Yoda fight with Darth Vader! What's with that?!?
P.S. I like that "Vader" is in my spelling dictionary. Lucas changed the world.
Friday, May 27, 2005, 11:17 AM in Fun
Studs from Microsoft
I have no idea where the "Studs from Microsoft" video came from or how old it is and I had to download it first before playing it, but it was totally worth it to see Bill Nye as a 'softie and to watch those women run for their lives instead of facing the possibility of dating any of us. : )
[via jj5 (would doesn't like people to know he exists, let alone link to him...)]
Thursday, May 26, 2005, 9:45 PM in Fun
I am a Gauntlet Adventurer
 I am a Gauntlet Adventurer.I strive to improve my living conditions by hoarding gold, food, and sometimes keys and potions. I love adventure, fighting, and particularly winning - especially when there's a prize at stake. I occasionally get lost inside buildings and can't find the exit. I need food badly. What Video Game Character Are You? |
BTW, wander around building 10 one time and you'll know I'm not kidding... : )
Wednesday, May 25, 2005, 8:08 AM in Fun
XBox 360 Game Videos
I'm sure you've heard the news and read the specs and you might even have seen the celebrity-ridden MTV special. Now, see what it'll really be about.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005, 8:07 AM in Fun
Cat Swimmer
I was searching with the boys this morning and found this:
I just thought I'd share. : )
Monday, May 23, 2005, 10:59 AM in Fun
Episode III: ROTS doesn't suck and other opinions
My sons and I (and my 11-year old boy's "date!!!") all enjoyed Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I know it didn't have much in the way of decent dialog or acting, but when compared to the other 5 in the series (especially episodes I and II), it rocked. I've only seen it once, but right now it's tied for first in my mind with A New Hope (I know some snobs like The Empire Strikes Back best, but I still love the feel of the first one).
Also, I liked Unleashed a great deal. Not only did I enjoy the fighting, but I really enjoyed the relationship between Danny and his new family.
On the other hand, in spite of being a huge Frank Miller fan in general and a Sin City comic book fan specifically, I couldn't stand that silly movie. I wanted to see a movie version, not the comic book version projected onto the screen!
In other news, I'm still waiting for a sequel to The Matrix. I don't count this fan-boy movie or this one. Anyone got a release date to a follow on worth the time to watch?
Monday, May 2, 2005, 8:15 PM in Fun
Only Annual Time Traveler's Convention
Here.
May 7, 2005, 10:00pm EDT (08 May 2005 02:00:00 UTC)
East Campus Courtyard, MIT
42:21:36.025°N, 71:05:16.332°W
(42.360007,-071.087870 in decimal degrees)
I can't attend this year myself, but I'm definitely planning to go to this one and only convention some time in the future (I love that idea : ).
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2005, 3:51 PM in Fun
Anyone Want To Join Us For Hitchhiker on Friday?
The brothers Sells and I will be attending the 7:35pm showing of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on Friday at the Evergreen theater at highway 26 at the 185th exit in Hillsboro. I plan on being at the theater around 7pm.
Everyone's welcome to join us. I'll buy the popcorn!
Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005, 11:06 PM in Fun
Rory + Scott's TechEd Video #4
It starts slow, but the ending is totally worth it!
Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005, 9:52 PM in Fun
Worth giving up the Omega Speedmaster for...
Here.
OK, the Omega Speedster is cool (very cool), but it doesn't compare to this masterpiece:
Of course, I'd want the platinum model, but at $137,000, maybe I'd learn to tell time by the moss on the north side of trees...
Sunday, Apr 10, 2005, 11:03 AM in Fun
Hitchhiker's Guide Is Likely to Suck
It may be that this review, saying how terrible the Hitchhiker's Guide move is, is actually funnier than the movie itself. He starts here:
"The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie is bad. Really bad. You just won't believe how vastly, staggeringly, jaw-droppingly bad it is. I mean, you might think that The Phantom Menace was a hopelessly misguided attempt to reinvent a much-loved franchise by people who, though well-intentioned, completely failed to understand what made the original popular - but that's just peanuts to the Hitchhiker's movie. Listen."
He then goes on to detail why the movie is bad, ending up here:
"The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie is an abomination. Whereas the radio show, TV show, books and computer game are all recognisably variations on a theme, this is something new and almost entirely unrelated. It’s not even a good film if viewed as an original work: the characters are unsympathetic, the cast exhibit no chemistry, the direction is pedestrian, the pace plodding, the special effects overpowering (lots and lots of special effects, none of them funny mind you) and above all the script is amazingly, mindbogglingly awful. Oh, and they have taken most of the jokes out.
"This is a terrible, terrible film and it makes me want to weep."
His obvious anguish makes me laugh. : )
Saturday, Apr 2, 2005, 7:15 AM in Fun
Making XML More Aerodynamic
In case you missed it yesterday, Don Box and Andrew Layman, two of Microsoft's top thinkers, proposed a means of increasing XML performance by looking into areas of technology outside the core domain of XML.